in honor of bastille day (yesterday), one of my favoritest authors, david mccullough (author of my beloved truman) wrote an op-ed in the ny times, reminding americans of the wonderful historical ties that bind us to my favorite of all cities... paris.
so many favorites in one little article.
~k
15 July 2011
11 July 2011
a naysayer says
i've been watching the current discourse with a disaffected interest. for the first time i can remember, i do not believe that our politicians have america's best interests at heart.
i've long been a defender of public servants on both sides of the aisle - in perhaps this one regard only - in my sincere belief that we all love america, we simply disagree on the government's role in things. however, as i peer into the cesspool inside the beltway, listen to the budget busting bullshit being spewed not just by current office-holders but also by those seeking offfice, i am utterly aghast.
how anyone on the planet who knows jack shit about debt, defaults, volatile stock markets, and _very_fragile_economic_recoveries_ can even consider not raising our debt ceiling is beyond my apparent meager comprehension skills.
does it really take a degree in rocket science or advanced economics to understand what will likley happen if we default on our debt? let's see. first, our credit rating takes a nose dive which will double the interest we're paying on the debt we legally incurred and are morally bound to repay. secondly, our stock market will take a giant shit; anyone wanna take a guess as to how much? 600 points? 700? if our federal government can no longer borrow money (and folks, how many fucking times do i need to remind that our economy is based almost entirely on spending and if consumers can't spend, the government _must_ spend or the economy jumps off a cliff), our economy is doomed.
and what happens if our economy completely falters? municipalities around the country will go bankrupt, constituents all over america will follow suit, there will be absolutely no money to build or repair infrastructure, hospitals will have to start turning away medicare and medicaid patients cuz there won't be any money to pay those bills, social security payments will cease, every old person in america will have to move in with their kids or into a homeless shelter, and america will be full of destitute, homeless, hungry people living in a country with broken roads to empty houses. america. will. die.
so tell me, are all those sycophants and all the teabaggers that brought them to power really looking out for america's best interests? (and yes, i blame this almost entirely on the GOP for (a) getting us into this mess in the first place, (b) successfully blaming it on the democrats who are too big of pussies to adequately defend themselves, (c) refusing to acknowledge what everyone else in the entire world already knows - that we cannot get out of this debt crisis without raising revenue, and (d) its absurd contempt for compromise). i think not.
not unless they genuinely believe that the best thing for america is a modern day sacking.
~k
i've long been a defender of public servants on both sides of the aisle - in perhaps this one regard only - in my sincere belief that we all love america, we simply disagree on the government's role in things. however, as i peer into the cesspool inside the beltway, listen to the budget busting bullshit being spewed not just by current office-holders but also by those seeking offfice, i am utterly aghast.
how anyone on the planet who knows jack shit about debt, defaults, volatile stock markets, and _very_fragile_economic_recoveries_ can even consider not raising our debt ceiling is beyond my apparent meager comprehension skills.
does it really take a degree in rocket science or advanced economics to understand what will likley happen if we default on our debt? let's see. first, our credit rating takes a nose dive which will double the interest we're paying on the debt we legally incurred and are morally bound to repay. secondly, our stock market will take a giant shit; anyone wanna take a guess as to how much? 600 points? 700? if our federal government can no longer borrow money (and folks, how many fucking times do i need to remind that our economy is based almost entirely on spending and if consumers can't spend, the government _must_ spend or the economy jumps off a cliff), our economy is doomed.
and what happens if our economy completely falters? municipalities around the country will go bankrupt, constituents all over america will follow suit, there will be absolutely no money to build or repair infrastructure, hospitals will have to start turning away medicare and medicaid patients cuz there won't be any money to pay those bills, social security payments will cease, every old person in america will have to move in with their kids or into a homeless shelter, and america will be full of destitute, homeless, hungry people living in a country with broken roads to empty houses. america. will. die.
so tell me, are all those sycophants and all the teabaggers that brought them to power really looking out for america's best interests? (and yes, i blame this almost entirely on the GOP for (a) getting us into this mess in the first place, (b) successfully blaming it on the democrats who are too big of pussies to adequately defend themselves, (c) refusing to acknowledge what everyone else in the entire world already knows - that we cannot get out of this debt crisis without raising revenue, and (d) its absurd contempt for compromise). i think not.
not unless they genuinely believe that the best thing for america is a modern day sacking.
~k
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